The shooting death of a black Trump supporter in Milwaukee has state Republicans calling for a federal investigation.
Bernell Trammell, 60, a dreadlocks activist known for carrying handmade posters through the streets that read “Vote Donald Trump 2020” and posting them in his store, was shot dead by an unknown assailant on his sidewalk Thursday by the afternoon, police said.
“Due to Trammell’s known political activism and the possibility that his murder may be politically motivated, I respectfully request that the United States Attorney Matthew Krueger open an investigation,” Andrew Hitt, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, said at the last minute. Friday.
“No American should fear for their personal safety because of where they live or their political affiliation,” added Hitt.
Trammell, who ran a small publishing house, recently had a public dispute with a young man over one of his Trump posters, Reggie Moore, director of the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention, said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“He’s an old black man who didn’t deserve to die like he did,” said Moore.
Trammell explained in a video recorded on the morning of his death that Trump’s respect for rapper Kanye West and former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman earned him support.
“I think Trump is the sign of the times,” Trammell told local blogger Armstrong Ransome.
Police had no suspects in custody on Friday.
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